


nothing that i know

by hazellvesque



Category: Maximum Ride - James Patterson
Genre: F/M, Implied compulsory heterosexuality?, One-Sided Crush, Open to Interpretation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:49:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25136437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazellvesque/pseuds/hazellvesque
Summary: “She gets all giggly every time you say something sarcastic,” Max had told him once, “like everything is so much funnier because you said it.”A post-battle snapshot.
Relationships: Iggy/Ella Martinez
Kudos: 4





	nothing that i know

Iggy bit the inside of his cheek, hissing as Ella’s delicate touch barely ghosted across his spine, applying antiseptic to his wound. The sensation made him feel an odd combination of instant relief and intense paranoia all at once. Eraser claws were so much sharper than he’d remembered, and the precise swipe right between his shoulder blades had nearly taken him down. 

“I’m sorry,” Ella said. He could hear her behind him, sitting - or perhaps kneeling - on the bed, rummaging through her mother’s first aid kit. “I can’t think of a way to wrap it where your wings aren’t going to get bound up in the gauze, so you’re just going to have to be careful.”

“Huh. If only you had told me that sooner,” he teased. 

She exhaled slightly. She was probably smiling, the way Max says Ella always does when he makes a bad joke. 

_“She gets all giggly every time you say something sarcastic,” Max had told him once, “like everything is so much funnier because_ you _said it.”_

Iggy didn’t quite know how he felt about that. 

“Are there any other cuts?” Ella asked. He felt her shift around to his left side, and he tucked his wing in so she could maneuver around. “I don’t see any, but . . . hmm.” 

“What?”

“This bruise here,” her small fingers pressed on his upper shoulder this time, right at the edge of the tender spot. She didn’t shy away from physical contact, that’s for sure. “Were they throwing punches too?”

“No, I must have just landed wrong.” He raised and lowered his shoulders fairly easily. “It’s not too bad, see? Don’t worry about it.”

“I can’t help it. I always worry about you. All of you.” There had been a pause, a hint of hesitation in her voice. 

The rest of the flock had escaped from the fight with nothing more than the typical bumps and scrapes, save for Max, who Iggy could hear cursing and muttering downstairs as Dr. Martinez tended to her stitches. 

Ella had insisted she help him wrap his cuts. And it was either that or a front row seat to Max’s loud, colorful language, so he figured there was no harm. He was second guessing that now. 

“This is just one of our regularly scheduled beatings,” he said. “I’m actually surprised it was so easy this time, usually at least one of us ends up on the verge of death at some point. It’s usually more exciting that way.”

This time, she didn’t laugh. He heard her breath hitch in the silence and felt all-too-aware of her sitting next to him. His six-foot wingspan splayed across her twin bed didn’t exactly allow for much personal space. 

“I think about you guys out there all the time,” Ella murmured. “As much as I wish Max could stay, I know she’s on an important mission. And she needs all of you fighting alongside her. But I’m always afraid of something serious happening and her not coming home” 

“Max is tough,” he reassured her. “She’s not going to let anything stop her.”

Iggy felt her move closer, the side of her leg pressing against his almost protectively. 

“I know,” she said. “But-”

“Ella,” Iggy interrupted, “I promise you. We’ll be alright.” 

He felt Ella’s weight shift off the bed. Her footsteps sank into the plush carpet. Her socked feet shuffled almost soundlessly for just two steps before falling silent again.

“That’s a big promise,” she said, quieter now than before. Her voice came from straight ahead; she had moved to stand directly in front of him. “But there’s no guarantees. I’m always afraid. That every time I see you, it might be the last and I won’t even know it.”

Her voice had that thick, swallowed-down sound that told him she was probably about to cry if he didn’t do something about it. 

Iggy reached forward, his palms outstretched. Ella placed her small hands in his, and he squeezed them comfortingly. 

“Hey,” he lowered his voice, “we’re tough. We can handle anything. We might get tossed around like rag dolls but we’ll get right back up. And then we’ll march back in here and crash on your couch and totally ruin your mom’s grocery budget for the week and it’ll be like we never left. Trust me.” 

She was so close he could _feel_ her relieved exhale as well as hear it. 

He squeezed her hands even harder, partially to ease his own anxieties. “ _Do you_ trust me?” 

“I trust you,” she whispered. “But . . .” 

She dropped one of his hands, moving it to his face and closing the distance between them before he could process what was about to happen. The press of her mouth was soft. So _unbelievably soft_. The kiss was brief, the sensation vanishing just as quickly as it had arrived. He hadn’t kissed her back. 

Ella exhaled, her warm breath ghosting against his face.

“Just in case I won’t get to say a proper goodbye,” she said. Her quick steps reached the doorway and were down the hall before he had a chance to react.

Iggy didn’t know how to feel about _that_ either. 

**Author's Note:**

> Me? Writing Max Ride fic in 2020? 
> 
> I have no idea where my brain wants to place this in terms of canon timeline because this whole series is so utterly nonsensical that this can go basically anywhere between books 3-8 and still work so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> Like a true millennial-gen-z-cusper, my adult self very much headcanons Iggy as gay, but I liked this pairing when I was a youngin’ (for reasons unknown) so naturally my mind is like “you know what’s a great idea? writing a beloved character from your childhood having a vague sexuality crisis” and I literally don’t know why I’m even posting this but here you go. Interpret it as you will.


End file.
